Group Payroll Manager

The Clicks Group, South Africa's leading Health, Beauty and Wellness Retailer is home to brands such as Clicks Retailers, Sorbet, UPD, The Bodyshop and UniCare. With a strong national footprint and a growing digital presence, the Group is committed to innovation, customer-centricity, and sustainable growth in an increasingly data-driven and omnichannel environment. We are seeking an experienced Group Payroll Manager to lead and optimise the end to end payroll function across our Group. If you're a specialist in SAP HCM, passionate about governance and compliance, and driven by service excellence, this is your opportunity to play a key strategic role in enabling a seamless people experience.

As the Group Payroll Manager, you will be accountable for ensuring accurate, compliant, and timeous monthly payroll processing for all employees across multiple business units. You will oversee payroll governance, statutory compliance, system effectiveness, and risk management, ensuring our payroll operations meet the highest standards of accuracy, integrity, and efficiency.

Payroll Operations

• Oversee full payroll processing for the Group, ensuring accuracy and timeliness.
• Maintain and optimise SAP HCM with a strong focus on data integrity and accuracy.
• Ensure payroll inputs, validations, and reconciliations meet agreed SLAs.

Governance, Compliance & Audit

• Ensure full compliance with BCEA, LRA, SARS, UIF, COIDA, and other legislative requirements.
• Lead internal, external, and forensic payroll audits with zero critical findings.
• Develop and enforce payroll policies, controls, and risk mitigation strategies.

Systems, Reporting & Automation

• Manage SAP HCM configuration, testing, and system upgrades.
• Produce and validate key payroll analytics, reports, and statutory submissions.
• Drive automation and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Lead and develop the payroll team to deliver high accuracy and operational excellence.
• Build a culture of accountability, performance, and continuous improvement.
• Oversee resourcing, performance management, and succession planning.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Partner with HR, Finance, Audit, IT, and business leaders to ensure seamless payroll operations.
• Act as the escalation point for complex payroll queries and sensitive matters.
• Provide expert advice on legislation, payroll policy, and system interpretation.
• Accurate and on-time payroll each month, without exceptions.
• Full compliance with legislative and statutory deadlines.
• High data accuracy and reduced manual corrections.
• Effective team capability development and SLA adherence.
• Delivery of continuous improvement and automation initiatives.

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, HR, Accounting, or related field.
• 8 years' experience in payroll management within a medium-large organisation.
• Extensive experience in SAP HCM Payroll.
• Proven track record in governance, compliance, and audit leadership.
• Experience managing high-volume payroll and leading a team.
• Strong technical expertise in SAP HCM, payroll legislation, taxes, and reconciliations.
• Excellent governance, compliance, and audit capability.
• Strong leadership and coaching abilities.
• High numerical accuracy, analytical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
• Clear and professional communication.
• Change orientation and resilience in high-pressure environments.

• Customer centric and service driven.
• Ethical, professional, and trustworthy.
• Adaptable and agile in a changing environment.
• Reliable and accountable.
• Collaborative and team oriented.